Cingles Info

Top Stories - Reuters
U.S. Approves Testing of Drug for West Nile Virus
Wed Aug 21, 6:41 PM ET
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( news
- web sites) has given the go-ahead for a trial of a drug for use against the
West Nile virus ( news - web sites), while the government pledged more money on
Wednesday to track and control the disease.
AP Photo
Slideshow: West Nile Virus
The mosquito-borne West Nile virus has killed 13 people in the
United States so far this year. The virus, which first appeared in the United
States in 1999, is spreading more quickly than scientists had predicted, and the
season has not hit its peak yet.
There is no cure for West Nile virus, but Schering-Plough Corp. said
the FDA had approved trials of its drug Intron A, also known as interferon, now
used to treat hepatitis C virus, for use against West Nile.
Schering spokesman Bob Consalvo said the work was being done by an
independent researcher in New York, Dr. James Rahal of New York Hospital Queens.
He said Rahal also had done some work with Intron A against a related virus that
has been in the United States for years and also is carried by mosquitoes,
called St. Louis encephalitis.
"We are supplying the drug," Consalvo said.
Rahal said in a statement that the trial will involve 40 patients
infected with West Nile virus, and that he expected it to begin immediately in
Louisiana, Mississippi and the New York City area.
New York Hospital Queens said the trial seeks to determine if Intron
A can decrease the duration of the illness, make neurological symptoms less
severe and prevent death. The hospital said Intron A has been shown to be
effective in the laboratory against West Nile virus.
West Nile virus does not cause any symptoms in eight out of 10
people it infects, but in some it can cause encephalitis -- an inflammation of
the brain -- and death.
Rahal said patients age 50 and older are eligible to be enrolled in
the study, with younger patients eligible only if they are diagnosed with
encephalitis.
MORE FEDERAL FUNDING
The federal government said it was providing an extra $4 million to
states to spend on tracking and controlling West Nile virus.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( news - web
sites) said it had confirmed 269 cases and 13 deaths from the virus -- eight in
Louisiana, two in Mississippi and one each in Kentucky, Illinois and Texas.
"This latest funding will help states with West Nile virus activity
to rapidly identify new cases of the virus, expand laboratory capacity for this
testing, and continue to track the spread of the virus through the monitoring of
infection in birds, horses and mosquitoes," CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding
said in a statement.
"We are committed to doing all we can to help states monitor the
spread of West Nile virus, detect new cases and protect their citizens from this
epidemic," Health and Human Services ( news - web sites) Secretary Tommy
Thompson said.
The money also is earmarked to use for public awareness campaigns.
While some states are spraying pesticides and others are using bacteria that
kill mosquito larvae, the CDC is stressing personal responsibility for avoiding
the virus by telling people to cover up with long sleeves, to use repellents and
to clear any standing water.
West Nile virus has now been found in mosquitoes, birds, horses and
people in all 37 states east of the Rocky Mountains, and it is expected to
spread further as it is carried by migrating birds. The CDC has said that as
many as 1,000 people could become infected this year.
The extra $4 million brings total CDC funding to states for West
Nile virus so far this year to more than $31 million. CDC has given $54 million
to states, cities and territories since West Nile virus was first detected in
1999.